health risk-assessment (HRA) tool is now being
deployed to all South African staff. The tool measures
factors such as body mass index, nutrition, stress,
exercise and other lifestyle-related concerns. After
the assessment, employees receive a confidential
report that lists their risk factors and recommends
steps to minimize these issues. The HRA project is
also being used as a springboard to encourage
employees to undergo counseling and testing by giving them free vouchers to be used at off-site facilities.
Clinicians there then refer those who
test positive to the Bankmed HIV man-aged-care plan.
The overall program is still growing,
but Mr. Philip is already seeing an ROI.
Approximately 25 percent of employees
use ICAS counseling services per quarter, and about 700 have come through
Bankmed’s HIV managed care program.
“We now have about 506 active members in the Bankmed scheme, which is
about 30 percent of our HIV-positive
staff,” he says. “Comparatively, that’s
good going.” Although Standard Bank
staff members represent 30 percent of
the total clients covered in Bankmed’s
overall health care insurance program
(which includes members from other
banks), Standard Bank employees registered on the Bankmed HIV Disease
management scheme represent at least
40 percent of the total clients covered at
any given time.
Still, Mr. Philip knows there’s more
work to be done. Future plans call for
the program to be expanded beyond
South Africa, and another prevalence
survey to be conducted in 2007. “There
can never be an end point to this project
until … there is a cure,” Mr. Philip says.
Carol Hildebrand is a freelance writer
based in Wellesley, Mass., USA. She is a
former senior editor at CIO, and her
work has also appeared in Baseline,
Computer World and other publications.
